There were a few media reports in the 1930's, however, it was
during the 1940's when UFO sightings became a reported global
phenomenon - sighting reports increase significantly with each new
decade.

At first glance, it appears that the emergence of UFO's are a
relatively modern occurrence - further research led me to
reconsider my assumption.

There are numerous historical paintings, cited on UFO sites as
evidence of the historical existence of UFO's - interestingly, the
majority of these are religious paintings. Take a look at the
following examples:-

The above painting is called "Madonna with Saint Giovannino" It
was painted in the 15th century by Domenico Ghirlandaio
(1449-1494), a citizen of Florence, who had many apprentices -
among them, Michelangelo.

The painting hangs as part of the Loeser collection in the
Palazzo Vecchio - the Town Hall of Florence.

Could the strange object above the right shoulder of Mary
depict a UFO?

It has to be noted that a number of oddities (winged entities,
some angelic in appearance and others demonic) appear in the
sky-lines of Ghirlandio's paintings, however, the anomaly
highlighted in this painting does not appear to fit with the
traditional religious stylised theme.

The above painting is called "The Baptism of Christ" and was
painted by Aert de Gelder (1645-1727). Gelder was a devoted
follower and talented pupil of Rembrandt.

The painting is now hung in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge,
UK.

The image appears very "UFO like", although it could be argued
that the image merely depicts a portal through the clouds allowing
rays of light from heaven to lie upon the Holy infant.

It has been speculated however, that the painter had access to,
and spent time in the Vatican library, where, possibly some
information and/or artwork held within Vatican records, inspired a
link in Gelder's mind between Jesus and aliens / UFO's.

The picture above shows a 17th century Fresco from the
Svetishoveli Cathedral, Mtskheta, Georgia.

The two saucer shape objects "blasting off" contain images of
faces - could this be evidence of UFO activity associated with
Jesus or merely symbolic artistry to depict, for example, the sun
and the moon, which have been included within other crucifixion
paintings.

The painting entitles "The Crucifixion" hangs above the altar
at the Visoki Decani Monastery in Kosovo, Yugoslavia ~ it was
painted in 1350.

Again, this could be taken to indicate UFO activity, or a
creative way for the artist to depict the sun and the moon.

The artwork is very interesting, but cannot be taken as
categorical evidence of historical UFO sightings or knowledge, as
there can always be an alternative explanation or viewpoint
offered.

Current religious interest in UFO's

It is interesting and surprising to note that the Vatican has
invested heavily in a state of the art Advanced Technology
Telescope - "VATT" positioned on Mount Graham, in Arizona.

In May 2008, the Vatican's chief astronomer, Father Jose
Gabriel Funes, in a long interview with the L'Osservatore Romano
newspaper, made news by saying :-

"There is a certain possibility of intelligent life elsewhere
in the universe, and that such notion doesn't contradict our
faith. How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?
Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and
'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial
brother'? It would still be part of creation"

In 1997, the Vatican's Father Malachi Martin, during a radio
interviewed revealed the following mysterious statement:-

"Because the mentality... amongst those who [are] at the...
highest levels of Vatican administration and geopolitics, know
that, now, knowledge of what's going on in space, and what's
approaching us, could be of great import in the next five years,
ten years."

Indianapolis News Channel 8 released a video taken of St.
Peter's Basilica in Vatican City showing what appeared to be an
unidentified flying object moving across the upper left portion of
the screen. The video, taken from a network feed camera at around
6:00 am Roman time, was filmed as Pope John Paul II lay in state.

In light of these mysterious quotations, it makes me wonder -
what does the Vatican know that we don't?

This book investigates the sources of the
megalithic yard, its consequences to units of weights and measure,
and sets out to prove the premise of Alexander Thom.
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